Letter to MacArthur Foundation

Dear President Stasch and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation:

It is with great hope and expectation that I noted that you have moved the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in the direction of tackling big problems and working to have a transformative impact on the biggest ones we all face. While you mention climate change in your announcements of 100&Change, I would like to ask you personally to fund solutions to the climate crisis. The reasons are many.

First, we exist in a global warming emergency now, and we are doing far too little to stabilize climate in the US or world-wide.

Next, if we do not stabilize climate then all of the other crises we face are made much worse. One of our best known climate scientists, Katharine Hayhoe said it best: “We can pour all of our money, all of our effort and everything we have into a bucket of humanitarian efforts, but it will not be enough. Because the bucket has a hole in it. That hole is climate change. And it is getting bigger.” See the three-minute film here.

Third, climate change threatens us all with extinction, and extinction of our living systems upon which we depend utterly. Civilization is at stake “right now” as are many of the other creatures that share our beautiful home with us.

Finally, climate must be stabilized within a context of justice, equity, and fairness for all of us and for the rest of life. And justice, equity, and fairness have no future, indeed no hope without a stable climate and a sustainable humanity.

There has never been a crisis like this climate crisis. Everything is at stake because of it. The climate crisis needs the focus of 100&Change and all of the resources that can be brought to bear from other Philanthropies that will partner with you.

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Climate Emergency Coalition (CEC) is a lead organization creating the national conversation on the climate emergency to result in a declaration of Global Warming State of Emergency and an Emergency Climate Mobilization. CEC is working to alert, engage, and activate Americans to call for responses to meet the scope, scale, and urgency of the crisis: national climate policies and an emergency mobilization to phase out fossil fuels within a decade.